Education

Restores expanded fee collection authority for school districts when outside groups use their facilities. Requires maintenance and repair fees to be deposited into a dedicated special fund. Exempts after-school programs and instructional activities from paying facility maintenance fees. Takes effect immediately to help school districts maintain safe, high-quality public spaces.

Requires schools to develop policies limiting student smartphone use by July 1, 2026. Mandates schools to provide 400 minutes of physical education every 10 schooldays for most students. Reserves 5 percent of state preschool program spots for children with exceptional needs. Updates eligibility criteria for state preschool programs through July 1, 2027.

Requires schools to allow student smartphone use during emergencies and perceived threats of danger. Mandates trauma-informed active shooter drills that prohibit simulated violence and allow parents to opt out. Requires schools to develop instructional continuity plans within 10 days of emergencies by July 2025. Establishes protocols for temporary student transfers to nearby schools during emergencies.

Extends the deadline for school reporting requirements to January 1, 2027. Eliminates the requirement for schools to implement new special education service improvements. Requires the Department of Education to analyze and recommend ways to reduce school reporting burdens. Mandates legislative hearings to review recommendations for streamlining school reports.

Establishes a new California General Education Transfer Curriculum as the standard pathway for community college transfers starting Fall 2025. Requires community colleges to create associate degrees that align with the new transfer curriculum requirements. Guarantees admission to CSU for students who complete the specified transfer requirements and maintain a 2.0 GPA. Expands and renames the Foster Care Education Program to include support for kinship care providers.

Expands school health services to include county offices of education and charter schools. Encourages schools to participate in Medi-Cal reimbursement programs for health and mental health services. Requires the Department of Education to help schools establish Health Days for student screenings.

Requires the State Bar to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before making any changes to the bar examination. Mandates that analysis findings must be submitted to both the Supreme Court and Legislature for review. Evaluates the potential adoption of a uniform national bar exam to reduce costs for examinees. Requires collaboration between the examining committee and Law School Council on proposed changes.

Allows schools to share homeless students' information for eye exams and dental screenings. Requires parental consent unless parents specifically opt out of health screenings in writing. Imposes $2,500 fines on private schools that misuse student directory information.

Requires the California Interscholastic Federation to prohibit students assigned male at birth from participating on girls' interscholastic sports teams. Mandates changes to CIF's constitution, bylaws, and policies to implement new gender-based participation restrictions. Takes precedence over any existing laws or regulations regarding sports team participation criteria.

Strengthens hiring standards for California community college personnel by requiring specific qualifications. Mandates minimum or alternative qualifications for all faculty, administrators, and support staff positions. Applies to roles including instructors, counselors, librarians, and program administrators.

Requires schools to track and report sports-related head injuries and concussions in high school athletics. Mandates a standardized form by January 2025 to document discrimination and injuries at school sporting events. Requires schools to post incident reporting forms on their websites by April 2025. Establishes public hearings every seven years to review athletic safety and discrimination reports.

Establishes a new state agency to accredit and oversee educational programs for veterans. Requires organizations offering veteran education awards to obtain authorization from the new state agency. Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to create and update regulations for veteran education programs.

Expands student rights to wear cultural and religious adornments at graduation and related school events. Prohibits schools from requiring pre-approval for wearing cultural or religious adornments. Allows students and families to determine what qualifies as traditional regalia or cultural objects. Exempts students from wearing graduation caps when incompatible with their cultural adornments.

Requires California State University campuses to provide adoption information alongside contraception services. Mandates comprehensive information about adoption types, birth parent rights, and local support resources. Applies to all campus locations where contraception and emergency contraception are available.

Authorizes school districts to offer teacher certification programs for English learner and bilingual education. Requires district-run teacher programs to meet the same standards as university-based programs. Expands pathways for teachers to earn English learner and bilingual teaching credentials.

Makes technical changes to the naming provision of the Teachers' Retirement Law.

Expands parental access rights to include both official and unofficial school records of their children. Maintains existing protections that prevent access when prohibited by court orders. Preserves parents' rights to question and receive responses about inaccurate information in records.

Makes technical changes to accountant licensing and practice privilege requirements.

Requires California high schools to adopt new ethnic studies standards and curriculum by January 2028. Mandates that ethnic studies courses be free from bias and appropriate for students of all backgrounds. Establishes an expert advisory committee to guide development of ethnic studies content and materials. Requires schools to submit their ethnic studies curricula for state review by June 2026.

Establishes a student loan repayment program offering up to $50,000 for California legislative staff members. Requires legislative staff to work full-time for at least 12 months to qualify for monthly repayment installments. Distributes loan repayments in equal monthly installments over 20 years while recipients remain employed. Creates a dedicated fund to accept donations and requires annual program monitoring for fraud prevention.

Undeveloped "intent bill" that aims to fund transitional kindergarten programs in basic aid districts and small schools. Proposes funding mechanisms to prevent budget cuts in other educational programs.

Establishes new literacy training programs for TK-5 teachers by September 2026 to improve student reading skills. Requires school administrators to complete updated literacy instruction training by September 2029. Mandates adoption of new English language arts materials for K-8 students by June 2027. Provides funding to schools for teacher professional development through 2029.

Requires UC and CSU to align college admission standards with state education content standards by 2028. Establishes an annual course certification process for high schools to meet college admission requirements. Mandates consultation with the State Board of Education before changing college admission criteria. Creates a streamlined approval process for duplicate high school courses across different schools.

Requires community colleges to provide full-time benefits to part-time faculty teaching full loads across multiple districts. Expands benefit eligibility by combining teaching hours from two or more community college districts. Addresses inequity between part-time and full-time faculty compensation in the community college system.

Prohibits California schools from serving or selling particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods by 2035. Requires vendors to phase out harmful ultraprocessed foods from school food offerings by 2032. Mandates schools to begin reducing ultraprocessed foods by 2028. Establishes new state regulations to define and identify harmful ultraprocessed foods by 2026.